Breathing after quitting smoking

Does breathing get easier when you quit smoking?

Yes, for most people, over months rather than days. In the Lung Health Study, 5,887 smokers whose lungs already showed early damage were followed for 5 years. Those who stopped for good were the least likely to have a cough, phlegm, wheeze or breathlessness, and most of that change came in the first year after quitting (Kanner et al. 1999).

Lung function itself, measured as how much air you can blow out in one second, rose by about 2% in the year after quitting. After that it fell at half the speed of people who kept smoking, about the same as people who never smoked (Scanlon et al. 2000).

So: a small gain, then a much gentler slope. Function already lost mostly doesn’t come back, but it stops slipping away fast.

How well each breath is studied

• Pursed-lip breathingSome evidence
• Coherent breathingWell studied

Every study on this page (9)

• Kanner et al., 1999: In the Lung Health Study (5,887 smokers with early COPD), sustained quitters had the lowest prevalence of chronic cough, phlegm, wheezing and shortness of breath; changes in symptoms occurred mainly in the first year after quitting.
• Scanlon et al., 2000: In 3,926 smokers with mild-to-moderate airway obstruction, those who stopped smoking improved FEV1 by an average 47 ml (2%) in the year after quitting; their later decline was half that of continuing smokers (31 vs 62 ml a year), comparable to never-smokers.
• Ussher et al., 2003: In 174 smokers quitting with behavioural support and nicotine patches, reports of cold symptoms and mouth ulcers rose after one and two weeks of abstinence, and sore throat, coughing and sneezing rose after one week.
• NHS Better Health: The NHS says you may notice an increase in coughing or phlegm after quitting as your airways clear the mucus built up from smoking, and that this is a short-term process.
• NHS, cough: The NHS says to see a GP if you’ve had a cough for more than 3 weeks, and to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you’re coughing up blood or have chest pain.
• Hughes, 2007: Review: anxiety, restlessness, irritability, difficulty concentrating and insomnia are valid tobacco withdrawal symptoms that peak within the first week and last 2–4 weeks; cough and dizziness may be abstinence effects.
• Garcia-Aymerich et al., 2007: In a Copenhagen cohort of 6,790 adults followed for about 10 years, active smokers with moderate or high physical activity had slower decline in FEV1 and FVC and a lower risk of COPD than smokers with low activity.
• Mayer et al., 2018: In eight trials of people with the lung disease COPD, pursed-lips breathing during exercise slowed breathing but didn't help them walk further.
• Pinna et al., 2025: In people whose airways are narrowed by lung disease, weak evidence suggests pursed-lip breathing may moderately ease breathlessness in the short term.

Why am I coughing more after quitting smoking?

Because your airways are clearing out. In a study of 174 people quitting with support and nicotine patches, reports of coughing, sore throats and cold-like symptoms went up in the first week or two (Ussher et al. 2003). The NHS describes it as your airways clearing the mucus built up from smoking, and calls it short-term (NHS Better Health).

It’s a nuisance, not a sign you were better off smoking. A cough that lasts more than 3 weeks is worth showing a GP, and coughing up blood or chest pain needs a doctor urgently (NHS, cough).

Why do I feel short of breath after quitting?

It can be withdrawal rather than your lungs. Anxiety and restlessness are recognised parts of nicotine withdrawal, peaking in the first week and fading over 2 to 4 weeks (Hughes 2007). Anxious breathing goes quick and high, and that can feel like you can’t get a full breath. If that sounds familiar, air hunger and anxiety explains what’s going on and how to settle it.

If you have a lung condition, quitting slows it down but doesn’t undo it, so some breathlessness on effort may stay. If breathlessness is new, getting worse or comes with chest pain, get it checked rather than breathing through it.

Are there lung exercises after quitting smoking?

Not in the way the ads suggest. No breathing exercise cleans your lungs or makes them bigger. The best “lung exercise” is moving: in a Copenhagen study of 6,790 adults, smokers who were moderately or very active lost lung function more slowly than smokers who were less active (Garcia-Aymerich et al. 2007).

What breathing exercises can do is make breathlessness easier to handle while you get moving. Pursed-lip breathing, the breath at the top of this page, is the one to use on the stairs or a hill. In people with lung disease it slows breathing during exercise (Mayer et al. 2018), and low-quality evidence suggests it may ease breathlessness (Pinna et al. 2025).

To settle afterwards, slow belly breathing helps your breath find its own pace again: there’s a full guide in diaphragmatic breathing.

Breathing after quitting smoking: what to expect when

When	What tends to happen
First week or two	More coughing, a sore throat or cold-like symptoms for some people
First 2 to 4 weeks	Restlessness, anxiety, irritability and poor sleep from withdrawal fade
First year	Coughs, phlegm, wheeze and breathlessness ease; lung function rises a little, about 2%
After that	Lung function declines at about the rate of someone who never smoked

These come from the studies above, mostly in people whose lungs already showed early damage, so your own timeline may be quicker or slower.

What about breathing after quitting vaping?

There’s far less research on what happens to the lungs after you stop vaping, because long-term vaping is newer. The practical advice is the same: give a cough a few weeks, get moving, and see a GP if breathing problems hang on or get worse.

For the cravings themselves, whatever you used, nicotine cravings, breath by breath has a 90-second breath, and the whole plan is in breathing exercises to quit smoking. To practise slow breathing daily, coherent breathing, 5 in and 5 out, is free in Breathform, and 10 minutes a day is a calm habit for the restless first weeks.

Questions people ask

How long after quitting smoking does breathing improve?

Usually over weeks to months. In a large trial of people whose lungs already showed early damage, coughs, phlegm, wheeze and breathlessness eased mostly within the first year after quitting, and lung function rose a little in that year too. A cough can get worse for the first week or two before it gets better, so give it time.

Is it normal to cough more after quitting smoking?

Yes. In one study of 174 people quitting, reports of coughing, sore throats and cold-like symptoms rose in the first week or two. The NHS describes it as your airways clearing the mucus built up from smoking, and calls it short-term. A cough that lasts more than 3 weeks is worth showing a GP, and coughing up blood or chest pain needs a doctor urgently.

Can your lungs heal after quitting smoking?

Partly. In the year after quitting, lung function improved a little, about 2% on average in one large trial of smokers with early lung damage, and after that it fell at about the rate of someone who had never smoked. Function already lost mostly doesn’t come back, but it stops falling fast, which is why quitting at any age is worth it.

What are the best lung exercises after quitting smoking?

Anything that gets you moving: walking, cycling, swimming, the stairs. No breathing exercise cleans or rebuilds your lungs. What breathing exercises can do is make breathlessness easier to handle while you get active: pursed-lip breathing on the hill, slow belly breathing to settle afterwards. Start gently and build up week by week.